West Texas Kennel Club, Concho Kennel Club team up to host annual AKC dog show

Megan Lea BuckAssistant Lifestyle Editor

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, March 28, 2009

On the evening of St. Patrick's Day, several members of the West Texas Kennel Club passed on the once-a-year opportunity to drink green beer and instead gathered around a conference table at the Margaret Cowden Clubhouse at Manor Park.

It was the club's last monthly meeting before the Cotton Pickin' Oilpatch Cluster dog show and competition co-hosted by the Concho Kennel Club of San Angelo.

The show, scheduled for April 2-5, will be at the Horseshoe multipurpose facility. Meals will be catered by the Clarion hotel. Jack Onofrio Dog Shows, LLC, will be helping organize the show.

The Midland/Odessa club will be alternating days with the San Angelo club. With a four-day show, WTKC treasurer Frank Schneider explained, exhibitors can save money on gas and do more to boost the local economy by staying in the area for an extended weekend.

Each day of the event is a show in itself, with separate entry fees for each dog per day. As of the March 18 registration deadline, the club estimated 640 dogs will participate in the event each day.

Entry fees begin with $24 per day for the first entry of each dog. Entries into specific competitions range from $17 to $22 per dog per entry.

As an American Kennel Club licensed club, the non-profit West Texas organization is required to sponsor an annual dog show in its area. Local club members said they start planning the event a year in advance.

Schneider said the Midland Chamber of Commerce and Sports and Entertainment Association of Midland (SEAM) awarded the club a grant of up to $7,100 to cover some of the expenses of hosting the show. Expenses from last year's show totalled $10,000.

"$7,100 is going to pay for the judges, the building and the food," explained Shannon Schneider, secretary for the club.

But the club will not receive any of the funds until after the show, chairman Gary Cline said.

In awarding the grant money, SEAM and the Midland Chamber of Commerce asked the club to gain information from their exhibitors about the hotels and restaurants they visited. The club decided to pass out a questionnaire and use the completed forms in a raffle drawing.

"What they're looking for is demographic information," said Skip Ashton, club president.

In addition to finding ways to fund the show, the club has to provide hospitality and security. They have to designate areas for grooming, arrange for RV hook-ups for some of their exhibitors and arrange accommodations for their judges.

Judges for the show often are hired up to a year in advance. Shannon Schneider and Judy Cline represented the West Texas Kennel Club on the judging committee for this year's show.

"These judges have studied for years and go through a number of requirements," explained Cline. "They literally have given years of their lives."

To qualify to judge one group of dogs - breed groups include sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting, herding and miscellaneous - a person must learn the requirements for each breed within the group. Each group includes several breeds - the sporting group lists 29 - and the judging requirements for each breed are seven pages long.

One member of West Texas Kennel Club has qualified as an AKC judge. Bob Boothe, who has been in the club since 1983, raises and shows beagles. He started judging them in 1973.

"You usually start by exhibition," he said, "and apply with the AKC and take tests."

"It's quite an ordeal and very expensive," added Cline. "They have to attend seminars on each breed."

Since they were involved with hiring the judges, neither the Clines nor the Schneiders will exhibit their dogs at this year's show.

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Other club members do plan to show their dogs and have to juggle a busy schedule of preparing their dogs and making sure the show runs smoothly.